MIDDLE EAST

Israel fires missile at drone that entered from Syria

Israel launched a Patriot missile at an unmanned aircraft that entered its territory from Syria on Wednesday, the military said, warning it will not tolerate airspace infiltrations that have occurred several times over the past year.

The military said the missile intercepted the aircraft "that infiltrated the Israeli border from Syria." It did not elaborate but warned that it "will not allow any violation of Israeli airspace and will act against any attempt to hurt its civilians."

There were no reports of injuries or damage.

Israeli police issued a rare request for boats in the Sea of Galilee to sail back to shore "due to security operations taking place in the area."

It was not immediately clear who launched the drone. There was a similar incident a month ago and in February Israel shot down what it said was an Iranian drone that entered its airspace. It bombed Iranian targets in Syria in response.

Wednesday's incident came as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Moscow for talks on Syria with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a key ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad in the Syrian civil war.

Israel has largely stayed out of the fighting in Syria. But it has carried out dozens of airstrikes on alleged arms shipments bound for the militant group Hezbollah.

Israel has warned Iran, which is allied with the Syrian government, against building up a military presence on its doorstep.